Friday, September 10, 2010

I'm fairly certain this man can remember exactly where he was and what he was doing...

...reading to school children.

We can never imagine the thoughts that went through his head as those horrific words were whispered in his ear..."an airplane has flown into the World Trade Center".

As a mother, I've had to remain calm and smile in front of my children at one time or another. Its never easy but it's what the situation calls for.

Can you imagine having to smile to a room full of children when you know what started out as a regular schoolday had became a day of nightmare proportions? I can't. Which is why I would like to dedicate this day to all those who were senselessly lost on 9/11, as well as to those who loved them. This is also for those who helped us through this terrible time in our country's history.

And while I strictly avoid politics on my blog, I would like to include our leaders who were dealt this card just like the rest of us...and had to make decisions on our behalf at a time when we all wanted to go to sleep and wake up to find this was a bad dream.

Some people don't like to look at the dirty images...but if we pledge to never forget...we need to remember exactly how great their sacrifices were. How desperate must a person be to jump to their certain death from such a high floor? I have no idea. Or what must go through a fireman's mind as they rush into a burning building...a building certain to crumble? Most of us will never know.

For these people, we must never forget...and we must make sure our children never forget. They need to remember the brave and innocent who lost their life on this day, just as they remember soldiers who have fallen in world wars throughout our country's history.

I know many will disagree but I have never been one to shield my children from images such as these. Okay, I might shield them from the most horrific. I also would not bring it up if they weren't already exposed to it...at least not right away. But I think talking to them at an early age and giving them the info they can handle helps them understand when mommy or daddy is upset or they hear you talking about it on the phone. Just my opinion, you know? Unfortunately, this is life...or at least one horrible slice of it.

By now, many survivors have moved on. They have reasons to smile again, to laugh and enjoy life. And what a blessing that is! But they will not forget...and neither will we.

And rather than judging the man who was our President at the time, we should be grateful...grateful that we didn't have his heavy burden and his decisions. Grateful that at a time when we were all terrified as to what may come next, he reassured us.

Flying home to a White House that may have been an intended target...I'd be willing to bet that not in his worst nightmare did he think this was going to happen on his watch. And to be told it wasn't safe to go "home" to the White House...unthinkable!

This is not a time for arguing politics...but a time to honor those involved in this horrifying act...all of them! I guess you could say I've wanted to write this post for a long time but my aversion to modern day politics kept me from tackling anything close to it on my blog. Jaded as it sounds, I find it difficult to believe most politicians and political commentators these days, but that is another subject entirely, and certainly not for today. But on that day 9 years ago, I wanted to be reassured, like we all did.

This is a day to wish all of these people simple beauty and hope on an ugly day in our history.

To let them know that we care and while we may not have known their loved one personally, we do remember them...and always will.

And to go back to my original question "Do you remember what you were doing"...I was shopping at a cute little shop called "My Paris Apartment" with my then 4 year old little girl. I was at the counter to pay, debating whether to buy a precious hand painted wooden sign that had something I did not understand on it in French. My cell phone rang and it was my friend Belinda, telling me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. What??? No way, I said.She told me to just drop everything and go home to turn on the TV. Then she burst into tears and I knew that she wasn't mistaken.Before leaving the store, I asked what the sign meant. The lady said that "La vie est belle" means "the life is beautiful" in French.

I just knew I was supposed to buy a little sign that said life was beautiful on a day when something very ugly was happening. I bought it and it will always be a part of my home.

Thank you to Beverly from How Sweet The Sound for suggesting we take a break from our usual "pinkness" to remember this day.